Labour To Walk Out At County Hall?

It’s reported that Labour members of the county employment committee will walk out, or even not walk in, for consideration of whether Angie Ridgwell should now be formally interviewed for the £200,000-per-year post of Chief Executive as the only candidate.

Labour is unhappy by the absence of external applicants. So their members will not take part in the cross-party committee’s discussions on the subject. The leader of the Conservative-run authority Cllr Driver has apparently dismissed Labour as acting irresponsibly and making an entirely pointless gesture.

Deputy leader of the Labour group John Fillis said “We really need to hold back on this. This is a £200,000 job, with extras on top, yet only one person has applied from the whole of the country. What does that say about the reputation of this council? We’re talking about some of the top professionals in the country, but they look at Lancashire as a failing council, a council in chaos and they won’t touch it with a big stick”.

Last year’s restructure of the authority’s most senior staff merged the role of chief executive with the head of finance, a post known as the section 151 officer. Labour wants the jobs separated, as suggested by consultants.

Oddly enough, when the West Lancashire Council Tory party all walked out of a meeting here, there was derision by Labour . What’s happening is toys are being thrown out of prams.